Today as I was talking on the portable phone to my daughter Karen the doorbell range. I went to the kitchen window which allows me to see who is there before I go to the door. Sometimes I just answer from the window if I don't want to talk to whoever is there, such as Jehovah's Witnesses going door to door to try to promote their religion. I don't like that. Or some kind of salesperson. I was surprised to see a uniformed policewoman at the door.
Carrying the open cell phone I went to door and found she had come to ask if I heard or saw anything unusual next door. She explained that someone broke in through a bathroom window that faces our house. (There is a high hedge in front of it for privacy, and I can hardly see that window, anyway. The burglar set off the house alarm which automatically phones the security service to check with a neighbour and then call police.
She said it had to be a small, slim person who entered the house because the window space was small. There is a bit of the garage roof low to the ground near that window, and they had climbed on the roof to reach it. Once they egot in they took a pillowcase and looked into the woman's jewel box where they found her engagement ring. They must have intended to get a lot more to fill the pillow case. However, they broke the beam and set the alarm off. It makes a tremendous noise. They ran through the house and out of the laundry room door, leaving it wide open. My daughter on the cell phone could hear the whole exchange between me and the police officer.
Our neighbours had come home from a funeral and found a police car waiting in their driveway. It happened at about twelve noon. I didn't hear or see any thing, so I was no help. The policewoman advised me to keep careful watch, and to lock all windows if we were going out.
That was the third break-in in the neighbourhood over a period of time. Last autumn someone broke into the house right across the lane from my neighbours. They climbed in an unlocked window that was forgotten that time, too. About two years ago a widow across the lane and two houses over went out in the afternoon and somebody broke into her home and stole all her jewellery. Ben thinks somebody watches houses for when both people leave.
Our house is much more secure than most because we have special locks on the windows and doors, and also we had a very heavy, clear, glasslike film applied to the windows, so that if somebody tries to break one, the glass will break but will remain in place, stuck to the film. It is impossible to get through such a window without cutting yourself to ribbons. We also have an alarm system with an exceptionally loud alarm horn. I phoned the system people after the policewoman left to ask if our alarm could be placed outside in a hidden location. When they go off they scare thieves because of the incredibly loud noise and anybody in the neighbourhood would be sure to look at the house if such an extremely loud horn went off. When we occasionally set it off by accident because we open a door when it is activated it almost deafens us. If I had heard their alarm go off I would have gone to a deck to see why. I might have seen the open window or called 911 (the police) immediately, or been able to give a description of them and any vehicle they had as they fled. :-< :-( :-< :-( :-<As it is, when Ben phoned our neighbours tonight to offer his sympathy they told him that there was much more to be taken from the bedroom, and the alarm going off seems to have prevented them from finding it. They only got the pillow-case and his wife's little cherished engagement ring before they were scared away. Poor lady. I'm sure it was a treasured keepsake. Her husband said it was small and not very valuable because they didn't have much money when he bought it for her. I imagine it meant a lot to her in sentimental value and memories, anyway.
Ben was very, very angry at the thought of the homes in the lane being watched. He was glad he called because he was able to tell them about an excellent man who can repair the lock that was broken in their bathroom. They didn't know who could do it and that man is especially skilled at fixing older locks.
Those neighbours are an old German couple. She had a heart bypass operation a couple of years ago. They are cute. They are both small, and brisk, and smiling, and they bpth walk in a certain hobbit-like way, and they both look a little like good elves (or hobbits.) Have you read any of Tolkein's books or seen The Lord of the Rings?
Best to you all, Mary
